Marketing Yourself

Image by Harryarts on Freepik

Whether we like it or not, being a Voice Actor also means being a salesperson. The reality of this profession is that you’re marketing yourself every day.

You need to know how to present yourself effectively and to consistently demonstrate respect for yourself, your skills, and the time of everyone you collaborate with in the industry.

2 Basic Rules:

• Be Nice to Everyone! Sometimes “being nice” is the deciding factor between you and another person getting the role. That Receptionist? They could be the person the Casting Director asks to make the choice when they can’t decide. They could even end up a Casting Director one day. So be nice, to everyone, regardless of their “position”.
   
• Learn how to manage your time effectively (that includes making time for yourself as well). If you don’t actively use a calendar you should start doing so. Manage your time, and make sure you schedule IN the things that bring you joy. You might be starting out like I was, with multiple day jobs to support your Voiceover “habit.” Get used to scheduling every part of your day, so that you don’t get overwhelmed trying to balance work, life, and voiceover if you’re just starting out.  

Get used to it!

There’s something very different about marketing for other people compared to marketing yourself. I worked in Marketing, and I found it easy, fun and creative. But to market for myself? To pitch myself out there? That was a whole different animal.

Yes I have an agent, and one day you will too if you don’t already. That said, we still and always will be OUR OWN best proponent and salesperson – at every stage of our career.

Remember: Nobody will ever care about your career as much as you do.

It used to be a small group of people who did this kind of work. Now everyone’s got a home studio and it’s global, but that ALSO makes it tougher for the new kid on the block to get looked at or listened to, so you WILL have to be proactive.

YOU are the product!

You are your Brand, and YOU are what you are selling. That means you need to know who you are, what your strongest assets are, and what makes you different and marketable. You’ll need to accurately convey this to people who are in positions to hire you. I’ve taught a lot in my classes about figuring out who you are, because that always comes FIRST.

Branding

Once you know who you are, it’s a good idea to start the branding process. Figure out how you want to represent yourself first, and then begin with the creation of a logo.

Originally, the only thing I was interested in was animation, so my logo was fun and playful and cartoony:

As I grew and developed my skills and my career goals, my logo changed to suit. My branding has changed a lot over the years. Yours will too, but think about where you are now, what area of Voiceover you want to get into (Games, Animation, Commercials, Promo, etc.) and use that as a guide. How do you want to be seen? Does it accurately convey your skillset and your passion?

Get yourself out there!

Gone are the days of mailing out cassettes, CDs and postcards. Fortunately for you if you’re getting into Voiceover now, you have YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc. There are so many ways to get yourself out there quickly and efficiently to a worldwide audience!

Some Studios will even cast based on the number of followers or subscribers you have. The internet gives you a huge advantage over us older dudes who had to beat the pavement, send out auditions by mail, and WAIT to hear back. You’re really, really lucky to have the web as a resource and as a performance platform. Use it.

Present yourself as a package!

If you know you’re really ready and you have a demo recorded to industry standards, it’s crucial to present yourself as a complete package. That means you as an artist, so the package needs to include confidence. It may also include a track record of you working on other productions, and if you have a track record, get others to vouch for you.

You’ll also want professional headshots, and a professional resume. At some point you will have to sell yourself to an Agent, and they need a compelling reason to support your career.

Finding the RIGHT Agent for You

To find a reputable Agent (and one that fits YOU), consider utilizing resources like the Voice Over Resource Guide, which provides a comprehensive list of Agencies. Research these Agencies online. Many of them post their client rosters, and each client typically has a demo reel. That gives you insight into their success in the industry.

Reputable Agents will have recognizable names in their client roster, which is a clear indication of their credibility. Take your time in selecting an Agent, ensuring that you’re ready to join a solid agency that aligns with your career goals.

Here’s a great clip with Larry Riess of Arlene Thornton and Associates. Larry was one of our Guest Teachers in our Classes, and his insights over those two hours were absolute gold.

You need to evaluate an Agency well before making a decision, because they need to be a good fit for what YOU want to do. It needs to be a productive partnership for ALL concerned.

Working a day job as well? Unsure how to balance it all?

I’ve said this many times, but at one point early in my career I was working three different jobs because I couldn’t find one job that would support me enough so that I could do voiceover. I was designing ads at night and working for a film company during the day, and playing music on the side.

I did what I had to do to make it work!

If you want to do this enough and you love this work enough, you’ll find a means of supporting yourself to do that. We have students who are parents – managing kids, jobs, partners, and voiceover, just like I did in the beginning. It can be done, so don’t let anyone (especially that little voice of doubt in your head) tell you otherwise!

I did find it easier to work jobs that were flexible time wise when I was starting out. They didn’t pay as much as other jobs I could have gotten, but they gave me the flexibility I needed to go out and do auditions if necessary.

ALL my work in the beginning was non-union, which was also more flexible on the audition process, and when they recorded. A lot of them recorded at night because the Producers had day jobs too.

There’s always a way to work around it – you have to just be creative, and stay open.

And above all, Stay Honest

I’ve mentioned this in so many of our classes, but when you’re marketing yourself please make sure that you’re doing it honestly.

If you book a job be prepared to use your entire skill set and don’t misrepresent yourself with characters that you can’t recreate, perform or sustain. If you’re looking at getting into video games for example, you might need to sustain that character for up to four hours, maybe even longer. Can you do that? If not, don’t present yourself like you can.

The cost of misrepresenting yourself is one you can’t afford. Trust me, I’ve done it. Agents and Casting Directors don’t forget that kinda thing, and it might take you YEARS to recover your reputation, and/or to even be considered again.

We’re all about YOUR Unique Voice at Blumvox Studios, so if you really want to make Voiceover a career, you’ll need to find yours, and to live it. No one else can do you quite like YOU, so make sure you figure out who YOU are, what YOU want, and that you have the support systems and guidance to help you get it.

YOU are the product, and a precious one at that.

See you in the Booth.

-Steve